This post could alternately be titled:
Can you install a new doorknob?
Can you fix your daughter's flat tire on her bike?
Can you change the leaky toilet valve?
Actually, it should be called HAVE you done these things?
Because as a brewer, you MUST be comfortable doing all these things and more. There are a lot of "user servicable" parts in a brewery, and you will service EVERY. ONE. OF. THEM.
Having a problem solving mentality and mechanical aptitude is essential to launching a brewery.
Brewers get dirty. Their hands get cuts and scratches. Daily.
So read your Popular Mechanics magazines and get familiar with every part of every tool you own. It is one of my favorite parts of being a brewer, and something that every brewer should embrace. A visitor to my brewery described my setup as "Andrew's Erector set"
Damn right it is!
